I'm on a mission now. I'm exceeding the daily requirement of items to purge and it feels great! Yesterday, day #5 I got rid of not just 5 things but an entire large box full of stuff and a small bag of clothes for Goodwill. I also filled a contractor bag of crapola for the dump. I'm feeling pretty victorious but, I still have a long way to go.

I've been seeking out articles and blogs on the subject of 'less is more' and I've come across some really awesome reads like this one, Becoming Minimalist by Joshua Becker. It's a well-written, comprehensive blog that not only documents this family's journey into a minimalist lifestyle, but also offers up some great advice and words of encouragement for those of us who are trying to embark on a similar style of living. You can also follow Joshua on Facebook. I'm enjoying his words immensely.

I also found 365 Less Things on Facebook. Colleen, who lives in Newcastle Australia resolved to eliminate one item a day for 365 days, hence 365 Less Things, a blog she began in 2010. It's another approach toward decluttering and maintaining a clutter-free living space.

The two spaces in my home that are in desperate need of attention are my dining room and my daughter's room. A couple years ago while my daughter, Danielle, was away at college, I redecorated her room and it looked so beautiful... for about a month an a half. Since she no longer lives with me her room has become a 'catch-all' for things that I've accumulated and don't have a home for. These are not the kind of 'Before and After' shots people want to see, I know, but it's all part of my healing process so please bear with me. I need to get that room back to beautiful and keep it that way for ever after. I can't wait to see the floor again! Maybe I'll even have Action Carpet & Floor Covering refinish the wood floors that are underneath all that junk! Stay tuned...

Dani's Room Before...

After I junked it up...

I've heard it﻿ said that the first step to recovery is admitting that you have a problem. What actually sounds more appe﻿aling to me is this quote by J.﻿ K. Rowling: "Understanding is the first step to acceptance, and only with accepta﻿nce can there be recovery." I understand that I am not a hoarder, nor am I lazy. What I accept is that I am a collector of stuff. Lots and lots of stuff. There. I said it.﻿

I recently embarked upon the 30-Day Declutter Challenge, which I found in a blog post on the PBS NextAvenue.org website. The challenge is to eliminate unnecessary items from your home that have become more like useless clutter than valuable possessions. The deal ﻿"﻿is to throw out or give away one item on Day 1, tw﻿o on Day 2, three o﻿n Day 3 and so on for 30 days, at which point you will have jettisoned 465 items." Four Hundred Sixty Five items! That's a lot of items.

Feeling disorganized, overwhelmed and just plain cranky over drowning in all the stuff I've collected over the years, I decided this might be worth a try. So, to hold myself completely accountable I posted my mission to declutter my habitat on my Facebook page a couple days ago, and I rallied for fellow participants. I got one, maybe two, so far. When I told my boyfriend about the challenge I knew he would be completely supportive of my mission but, wasn't prepared for his daily reminders. "It's day #3 and you forgot to get rid of two things yesterday so you HAVE to get rid of five things today," he said with sheer excitement in his voice. OMG! This is not good. What started out as my personal challenge has now become something and someone I have to answer to. He's made himself my Collectors Anonymous Sponsor!

On day #1 I got a little overzealous and got rid of not only one item of clothing but and entire bag full of clothing. Yeah me! In my mind I was banking items for those days when I might be too busy to purge. But "NO," he says, "that's not how it works!"

This might be more of a challenge than I had bargained for but, in the end I hope with his "support" and my will-power (not to kill him) it will render us a clutter-free home. I sure hope he lives to appreciate it. ;) Stay tuned for the results of my 30-Day Declutter Challenge.These 'before' photos are the only spaces in my home I'm not too embarrassed to go public with:

I haven't seen the surface of my kitchen table since December 24, 2013.